


Stars

by ShadeofGreen



Series: Fan Fics Written before (or after) Royal's Release [3]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Conversations, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-24
Updated: 2019-07-24
Packaged: 2020-07-12 12:04:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19945879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadeofGreen/pseuds/ShadeofGreen
Summary: “I am curious,” says Akechi quietly, “if you ever heard the stars we see at night are actually dead. That we are looking into the past, and are seeing only their remains?”“I heard of it.”





	Stars

**Author's Note:**

> Please excuse grammar mistakes, spelling mistakes, and canon/continuity errors. Everything is vague regarding when exactly the fic takes place, but I imagine the ending takes place right after Shido's confession, but before the final exploration of Mementos

There isn’t anyone left at the café this November night. It’s just Yusuke and Akechi, and even then they were leaving. The meeting ended with the Phantom Thieves deciding nothing. There was no trip to Mementos, and exploring Sae Niijima’s Palace was push back a day.

On this particular night, the last of the warm weather is almost phase away. No doubt in Yusuke’s mind the cold weather will be back before anyone knows it. Cold weather is never fun without the snow. Something about the snowflakes brings a sense of joy. He has happy memories of walking through snowy days and admiring the lights the city put up for all to see.

_Had._

As Yusuke and Akechi walks toward the station, Yusuke wonders if any memories of being a Phantom Thieves will be tainted, just like those snowy days. Thanks to Futaba’s hacking, they all know to not trust Akechi. Yes, they have to trust him during battles. Yes, they have conversations with him from time to time, to make sure he doesn’t suspect anything.

But no one trusts Akechi enough to make him a part of their everyday lives. No one trusts Akechi to ask him out to the movies. No one trusts Akechi enough to have a bowl of ramen. No one trust Akechi to ask him to go anywhere with them. No one trusts Akechi enough to engage with him like a normal teenager.

But they know he’s anything but. To them, Akechi is planning on destroying the Phantom Thieves. To them, he is a killer, who is planning to off their leader. More than anything, Akechi is someone they’re going to outsmart and use, for their own means. It’s better to put distance on someone you know you can never trust, then to blindly trusting them and be in denial.

Yusuke pause a few feet away from the station’s entrance and he couldn’t help but sigh and shake his head. _To think I’m comparing our situation with Akechi to my experience with Madarame._ He turns his head downward, and gives out a bitter laugh. “This is ridiculous…”

“What’s ridiculous?”

Yusuke quickly lifts up his head to find Akechi standing in front of him, his hands behind his back. The expression on Akechi’s face is the one he wears while on the job, at least when he’s on television. A touch of seriousness, maturity, and most important of all, that famous charm girls seem to swoon over.

“It’s ridiculous how this is the second meeting where nothing productive happened,” Yusuke felt his mouth slowly curling into a smile, since after all, this much is truth. “Our leader really made us sit in his room for over an hour before his big decision of telling us to go home.”

“There is no doubt in my mind he has a line of logic no one can follow.” Akechi smiles back, and turns back around to face the station entrance. “It’s one of those things that make him different from the rest of us. He has a trait none of us possess, and we can’t put a name on it. Dare I say…it makes him special?”

“Special is one way of putting it,” replies Yusuke, as he places a loose strand of hair behind his ear. “Thought I think someone of your fame and prestige is special as well, no?”

“…Yes. I suppose so.”

Akechi attempts to take another step forward, but stops midway. Then, Akechi looks up into the night sky. Curious, Yusuke couldn’t help up but stare upwards as well. However, there is nothing up there worth Yusuke’s attention.

Tonight, like almost every other night, is pure pitch black. It’s as if someone covered a white canvas from top to bottom. The white dots that are the stars millions of miles away did not twinkle tonight. Then again, stars are hard to find in a city like Tokyo. All of the lights make it difficult to see the beauty nature has to offer.

“I am curious,” says Akechi quietly, “if you ever heard the stars we see at night are actually dead. That we are looking into the past, and are seeing only their remains?”

“I heard of it.” Yusuke takes a step forward, and stands next to Akechi. Yusuke slowly moves his eyes to turn his attention onto the teenager.

No more is the seriousness from before. No more is the maturity seen a minute ago. No more is that famous charm girls seem to swoon over. Akechi’s eyes are narrowed, as if he is angry at them for some reason. His mouth is in a thin line that isn’t a frown, but could be. Akechi now is in deep thought, if his fingers rubbing his chin mean anything.

“Believe it or not,” continues Akechi, his voice suddenly getting lower and oddly enough, rough. “All we are seeing are what the stars looked like in the past. They may not be the same stars millions of years ago, but they are very much still alive.”

“Of course, not many people know this. Maybe it’s because they don’t care to know the full truth. Maybe it’s because they take comfort with what is perceive as the truth. They take comfort knowing what the familiar is.” Akechi drops his hand, lowers his head, and stares down at the ground, his hair covering his face. “It helps to stay safe from the unknown. Knowing what is out there makes us rethink about everything about our lives, including our own mortality.”

Yusuke didn’t want to reply to such a topic. Never did he expect this conversation to suddenly go south. He didn’t need another reminder of Akechi’s plan for the group. The whispers behind Akechi’s back were enough. Besides, Yusuke feels uncomfortable talking to Akechi for this long.

But as Yusuke said his goodbyes, and continue walking onwards to catch his ride back to the dorms, he couldn’t help but look back at Akechi once more. Akechi is still standing there, blocking a part of the entrance of the station, not caring at the fact people are giving him rude looks. Clearly their conversation stirred Akechi’s interest in such ways that it bothered the teenager to act unnaturally like himself.

Yusuke couldn’t help but form his thumbs and pointer fingers into a frame.

~~~

There isn’t anyone left at the café tonight this December night. It’s only Yusuke, heading back to the dorms. The snow finally fallen, and the real cold weather finally settle in. As he walks toward the station, Yusuke couldn’t help but stop midway, and stare up at the night sky. Once long ago, he wondered if any memories of being part of the Phantom Thieves would be tainted.

As he looks upward, Yusuke sees that once again the city’s artificial lights are doing a wonderful job of blocking out the true beauty of nature. Yusuke pulls his jacket closer to his body, and couldn’t help but think back to what Akechi said. The stars are not dead; they were just not the same as they were long ago.

With those words in mind, Yusuke hopes to find something above him. He wants to see something warm, something living, something comforting. Yusuke hope that somewhere above, he would find what made Akechi look into the sky.

Yet there is nothing for Yusuke to see. There are no stars out, be it white and burning, or black and cold. All Yusuke has before him is the familiar dark void.


End file.
